Markets today: 5 things you may have missed

• Energy group Centrica has shed 5.3p, or 1.5pc to 332.7p, on Monday after reports that the UK’s energy regulator Ofgem may refer the industry to the UK’s competition authority in a move to break up the country’s largest utilities. SSE also was chased 27p, o r 1.79pc lower, to £14.83.

• Lloyds Banking Group has risen by 1.2pc to 78,29p after analysts at Investec raised the bank to a “Buy” rating. The analyst note, headlined “It is safe to go back in the water!”, welcomes a new realism in Lloyd’s PPI provision and says there was a “frothiness” to last year’s sell-side recommendations.

• Mid-cap energy services group Kentz has risen to the top tiers of the FTSE 250 after the group’s management said that this year’s performance will be ahead of previous expectations, bolstered by strong trading in all three units. The group reported a 12.6pc rise in pre-tax profits of $118m (£71.5m), bucking the trend of rival firms in the sector. Kentz is up 57.5p, or 7.84pc to 790.5p.

• Diploma, which provides hydraulic seats and components to Formula 1 cars, has dropped 60p, or 7.89pc, to 700p after warning that a strong pound will hurt its profits. The group said around 75pc of revenues are generated outside the UK and therefore it was lowering expectations for full year operating profits by £13m to £14m.

• Phoenix Group has risen by 20, or 2.91pc, to 708p after the company confirmed it is in “exclusive discussions” with Standard Life to buy rival Ignis Asset Management. It has been reported that Standard Life was considering a £400m offer for Ignis, which manages fixed income, equity and real estate assets of around £67bn

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